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Something Different

Submitted by John Pappan on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 12:00pm

Ever since I was a little kid, I have spent every single Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother's house. It's always a fun time. I get to spend time with my cousins that I don't get to see very often. I get to visit the farm and take an hour or so to walk around in the fields just enjoying the fresh air and freedom that you can't have within the city limits. I get to eat more than my fair share of fattening food, but most of all, I get to enjoy time with my family. But this year, I'm doing something a bit different.

You see, last summer, a close friend of mine moved away. But it was more than her that just left. Over the years, I got to know her family and have come to love and enjoy them very much. So this year, I am taking a trip down there over the Thanksgiving break. It will be weird to share Thanksgiving with people that aren't my blood, but I'm close enough to the people that I feel comfortable calling them family. I'm not really sure what to expect since every family has their own recipes, traditions, and styles of Thanksgiving, but that's part of the fun. I know I'll have a lot of fun doing something different.

People tend to be creatures of habits. We park in the same parking spot every day or next to it on occasions where someone takes ours. We tend to eat the same meals every week on a rotation. We tend to order the same thing at our favorite restaurant. I'm not saying that the same thing is a bad thing or that it necessarily happens every single time, I'm just trying to say that trying something different is a good thing. I'm also not telling you to ditch your family on the holidays like I'm doing. Sorry grandma, I'll see you at Christmas!

Trying something different can be scary at times but it can also be exciting. It can be something simple. For example: Let's say you like to watch a certain thing, let's say only comedies. How about next time you go to watch another movie, maybe try to pick out something more serious or not in the comedy genre. Or it could be something much bigger. Like maybe you have a family tradition where you always dress up for Thanksgiving dinner, maybe try it where you all were your pajamas or something more casual. It might make the evening more fun since you won't have to worry about spilling gravy on your nice suit. If you try something new, you might find that you like it better or worse. If you like it better, then you can start doing that instead. If you like it worse, then you won't have to make that mistake twice.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope that I can keep myself under control so I don't gain twenty pounds over the break.